WTA Finals: Swiatek beats Jabeur, sets up Sabalenka semi-final showdown; Gauff also through to last four
The Pole needs to win the title this week in order to end the season as world No 1 for the second year in a row
Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Toray Pan Pacific Open
World No 2 Iga Swiatek remained undefeated in round-robin action at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico after beating Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in straight sets on Friday evening.
The Pole needed only one hour and seven minutes to beat Jabeur 6-1, 6-2 and finish the Chetumal Group as the topper with a 3-0 record. The result also eliminates Jabeur from the tournament with American Coco Gauff taking the second semi-final spot from this group.
“Against Sabalenka it’s never easy” – Swiatek
The win set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash for Swiatek against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday with the year-end world No 1 ranking on the line.
If Sabalenka wins, the Belarusian will lock the year-end top spot for herself, irrespective of what happens in Sunday’s final. If Swiatek wins, the Pole then needs to win the title this week to finish as world No 1 for the second season in a row.
“We’ll see what the conditions are going to be,” Swiatek said after her win. “Against Aryna it’s never easy. I’m just going to do my best and focus on myself and what I want to do on court. We usually have these matches that are really exciting and really tough, both mentally and physically.”
Gauff, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova, earlier in the day, finished with a 2-1 group record and will face doubles partner Jessica Pegula in the other semi-final. Pegula, who lost all her three matches in this tournament last year, finished the Bacalar group with a perfect 3-0 record.
Chetumal group standings:
- Iga Swiatek 3-0
- Coco Gauff 2-1
- Ons Jabeur 1-2
- Maketa Vondrousova 0-3
